Much Ado About Everything

Chapter 2

After school that day, I knew a lot more about the black-clad, purple-haired girl that crashed into our library than I did this morning. I found out that she had a black belt in Ninjitsu. I now knew that she was a vegetarian, and loved vegetable ramen. I know that she loves Tom Cruise movies and adores chocolate.

But the most amazing thing was that she appeared to like me. For a lot of girls, I was a boring, nerdy, foreign girl with abnormal, weird friends. But although Cho attracted a lot of strange looks in our direction, and caused girls to turn and whisper, she didn't seem to care. And I felt more confident around her.

The only problem was Sato. After about a week, she was the only one who didn't seem to like her all that much. Oki liked her because Cho could sing, and adored her music. And even Tohru Honda, who didn't really hang out with us, had invited us all to a party. This wouldn't have happened before Cho had arrived. Oki was totally thrilled.

"Well of course we have to go!" she trilled on the way home from school the following Wednesday. "I hear there's going to be boys there! I haven't talked to a boy in the longest time". She was oddly alert for once, but then again, she usually was when a party, or when music or art were mentioned. But Sato had different ideas.

"You do realize that the only reason we were invited", she said coldly. "Was because of that Cho? Come on, Oki! I love you, but I can't allow you to be all excited for nothing. You'll get hurt!". As much as I hate to admit it, Sato was right. She wasn't being mean on purpose, she just hates when people try to take advantage of Oki because she's a little dipsy.

Oki's face fell. She looked so down that Sato softened a little, and put her arm around Oki. I smiled. They're a strange pair-off, but they're so loyal that no one takes a second look.

"Aw, come on Oki", Sato said, squeezing Oki's shoulders softly. "It's not that bad! Look, we'll go to the party, okay? If it means that much to you-" she didn't get that much further, as Oki had thrown her arms around her neck, almost strangling her.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" Oki squealed, jumping up and down on the spot, her shoulder bag flying out and hitting me in the stomach. "Sorry, Akahana. You'll come too, right?" She looked so earnest and needy that I nearly agreed.

"Oh, I don't know…", I moaned. 'Party's aren't really my thing, to be honest. Why do you wanna go so badly, anyway?" I realized that neither myself or Sato had ever seen Oki so worked up about going somewhere. Not even a concert where she herself was playing. The question appeared to stump her, and she stopped bouncing, and looked away, blushing.

"Uh…" she stammered, picking up her satchel and walking on ahead of us. "I just, uh…. Met….. someone…. And he'll be at the party…" Now it was Sato's turn to look excited.

"No way!" she yelped, her glasses falling down her nose. She pushed them back up impatiently. "Who is he? Is it a Sohma boy? They'd be the only ones that would go to a party at Tohru's…" Sato has to rationalize everything. But I was stuck on another point she'd made.

"Who are the Sohma boys?" I queried. The girls turned to me with slack jaws. Considering I spend my free time in a library, or working in my mum's shop in the town, is it really such a wonder that I don't know these boys?

Oki composed herself before Sato, something unheard of in our little group.

"The Sohma boys", she started. "Are Tohru's adoptive brothers. They have no parents, but the eldest kinda looks after them all. They go to the boy's secondary in the town, and none of them are related". She reeled this off as if it were sacred CIA-approved information. I had to laugh.

"And I'm guessing you like one of them?" that was enough to shut her up.

"Maybe", she replied quietly, causing Sato to scream excitedly. "Okay, okay, so what if I do? It's not like he's so much older! Not as old as Shigure anyway…." Sato stopped bouncing. This I could relate to. We never spoke of Oki's ex unless she brought him up herself. Shigure was a creep. A really cute creep. But a creep all the same.

"well who is it?" Sato yelled. This is killing her, I thought.

"It's…." Oki paused, suddenly shy. "It's Momiji Soh-" she was cut off by a man's voice calling her name. she blushed suddenly, and I didn't have to turn around to suss that Momiji was the one who had been calling her. I didn't turn until he was right next to us.

"Guten Tag, Oki-chan" he smiled. In the April sun, his blonde hair gleamed gold, and his eyes seemed bluer than ever. I could see why Oki liked him immediately. And what he said next proved he was a sweetheart. "I hear that you'll be going to Honda-san's party? That's cool"

"Yeah, I will" Oki smiled, and her voice, although it was her usual dreamy voice, it had a mature, smooth note to it. It suited her. She seemed older, more in control. And Momiji clearly liked her a lot.

"Well, maybe I'll see you there?" and with that, Momiji smiled at her, waved to Sato and I, and dashed off after a bus that had passed us seconds before. Oki looked totally thrilled, and blushed furiously when Momiji-chan winked at her from the moving bus's window.

After dropping a hyper Oki off at her house to get ready for the party the next day, Sato and I took our time walking home. We live on the same street, so we took our time wandering the sleepy country lanes of the village to our houses.

"So Sato", I grinned, nudging her with my elbow. "Which Sohma boy do you like?" I accompanied this question with a suggestive wink and a raise of my left eyebrow.

"Shigure" Sato replied, without so much as a second's hesitation. That's what I love about her. She just gets it over with, but she wouldn't sell out a friend's secret for anything. "I know it's wrong of me to like him after he was such a creep to Oki, but I can't help it. He's so cute!"

I had to laugh.

"Sato", I laughed, linking our arms together. "I know he's a cutie. In fact, I like him a lot, too. But he's off limits. He's….." I didn't have to go on. Besides, Sato is a sensible girl, and a smart one. She puts her friends first, and this time was no different.

"I know", she said, tossing her black hair from her eyes. "I wouldn't do anything about it. But it's fun to dream about, right?" By this time, we had reached our houses. I nodded.

"Of course it is!" I turned the key in the door. "I'll see you tomorrow" And with that, I walked inside my house, waving to Sato. What I didn't realize was that she had been staring after me, with tears in her big brown eyes.